Silent Scream
by Esmeia
Summary: Akira's reaction to Miiko's death may have seemed contained and even calm. But left to his own grief and thoughts, all he wants to do is wake up from the nightmare.


**Silent Scream**

**XOXOXOXOXOXO**

_Author's Note: So... I found a new obsession. It's called **Life Is Money.** _

_It's a really good manga that involves psychological themes and a bit of horror, yet has minimal blood! Believe me, I'm no horror fan (unless it's done rather uniquely) but this one is just really interesting and keeps you on the edge of your seat. You just don't know what to expect next. I highly recommend it to my reviewers, even if you're not a big anime/manga fan, much like myself._

_Now, I don't really consider myself a shipper. I'm a hopeless romantic and lover of anything sweet and fluffy, but I don't specifically go into a manga/cartoon/game/anime/book to pair people up. But Niko Akira and Nekomachi Miiko is a couple I liked since the early chapters. I might be the only one in the world who thinks these two would click well, but hey, that's cool with me!_

_**SPOILER:** Unfortunately, the possibility of seeing them interact more was cut drastically short when Miiko was found dead from her Mental Over. Man, did I flip out. Don't get me wrong, I had a feeling one or both of them would lose over the course of the manga. But not so soon! WHY LAWD? ;0;_

_Anyway, sorry for the overly-long AN. Just me rambling! Enjoy!_

_XOXOXOXOXOXO_

"_Do you want me to stay in here with you?"_

"_No, it's fine."_

_I looked over the words she wrote in the notebook. I looked her dead in the eyes. They were relaxed and carefree._

"_Are you sure?' I wrote._

"_What? You think I can't handle myself?" she wrote back. I heard her chuckle from behind her mouth cover._

"_No, it's not that," I scribbled. "But what about Romero-san? He's nuts!"_

_Miiko rolled her eyes. "Please. I'm not scared of that little twerp. If he comes anywhere near me, I'll knock his ass out."_

"_But no violence, aye?"_

_Her left eye twitched. "I'm made of tougher stuff, even mentally. Besides, the shrimp can't see, remember? He can barely defend himself, much less hurt anyone else."_

_I turned the page to continue our silent conversation._

"_Yeah, I forgot about that..." I tapped the pen to my chin thoughtfully before continuing. "But that doesn't mean someone else can't be just as crazy as him. I could stay here and keep you company."_

_She looked over at me, the corners of her eyes wrinkling slightly in an unseen smile. I blushed (thank God the mouth cover hid my cheeks) and scribbled down words hastily._

"_You know! To protect you!"_

"_I'll be fine. Don't be so paranoid. Go get some sleep. Hopefully by the next roll we'll have these stupid things taken off."_

"_Alright... but you know I have your back, right?"_

"_I know. Thank you."_

XOXOXOXOXOXO

That was only a few hours ago.

And the same girl who I had laughed, joked and played around with was now stone cold _dead_ on her bed. And the killer didn't stop there: her hands, tongue, and eyes were all horrifically gouged out. Whatever sick bastard who had done this to her couldn't even stop at giving her a Mental Over. They had to humiliate her and put her senses in a neat little package to creep out the rest of us.

"Who could have done this?" Utsuromiya cried desperately, as if she'd get an answer from anyone. My eyes darted around at the other people in the room. "Well? Who?"

"Maybe it was that strange lad with the white hair," the homeless man answered. I looked at him in surprise. I had no idea he was paying attention, or even understood the situation thus far. "He tried it on Meguru-san and Kukuri-chan."

"He lacks the vision," Meguru coughed, slowly standing up. Moments earlier, he had broke down in tears and panic. Me? I was still in shock.

That couldn't be Miiko... could it? This all had to be some sick hallucination in front of us. I just couldn't comprehend it. It didn't make any fucking sense!

"He's right. The little freak can barely move around on his own," the large guy behind me smirked. I forgot his name, but I made a mental note to stay away from him. I moved a step away cautiously. He cut his eyes at me. "It wasn't me, fool."

I shook my head quickly. Not that I fully believed him, but he certainly wasn't making it any easier to sympathize.

Aoyori pushed his glasses further onto his nose, calm as a cucumber. "We should all just return to our rooms. I think this is more than enough excitement for one night. Or is it daytime now...?"

"I think we should all sit out the rest of the ten days and we're home free!" I scribbled in all capital letters in my notebook, finally overcoming my immobility. The group read it and nodded.

"Good idea," Aoyori said, walking towards the door. "Goodnight everyone."

XOXOXOXOXOXO

_Goodnight indeed._

How was I supposed to sleep? Miiko was dead. Not only that, but horrifically carved into afterward. Why didn't I stay with her and ignore her insistence to be alone? Why was I such a pushover? This wasn't just some regular game where you could lose and just be sent straight back home with bad feelings. This was life or death. Everyone was here for the prize money, but was someone so evil that they'd kill the rest of us off just to get their hands on a bigger cut?

I guess I'm naive. Maybe even a bit of a hypocrite.

Who was I kidding? I wanted that money just as much as anyone else. I had a large debt to pay off. A debt I had single-handedly driven myself into. From what I could gather, the others had a rather unselfish reason for wanting the money. Save a terminal sister, pay off a father's debt... and Miiko's? To live her dream as a famous model. Compared to that, my reason looked downright pathetic.

I punched a pillow, my body trembling uncontrollably. Why couldn't it have been me instead? No one would miss me. But she had a bright future. Surely, there were more deserving people of the money than me.

Miiko was the first girl who hadn't turned her nose up in disgust, or judged me for my reasons for joining the competition. At first, judging by her gorgeous looks, I thought she wouldn't give me the time of day. But the moment we introduced ourselves, she surprised me by being really down-to-earth, strong, funny and even softhearted. I admired her and loved to see her smile. Earlier that day, we had even entertained the idea of keeping in touch after the game ended.

But all of that was impossible now. Miiko was dead, and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.

Tears began to well up, burning my eyes. Suddenly, all the grief and horror began to choke me like a noose, making my heart pound and my emotions run wild. I tried desperately to get my emotions under control. If things continued on like this, I would find myself stabbed by the needle hidden in my bracelet.

… But was that so bad? Was it wrong to wish for it to all end? Maybe then, this horrible reality would end and I could even see her again. I wasn't much of a believer, but the thought of seeing her again, far away from our problems, was heaven enough for me.

My mouth piece became soaked with my unrelenting tears. I leaned forward and sobbed into my hands, the salty taste of them reaching my mouth. I began to choke from the stress. That fatal pin prick couldn't come soon enough. Why was it, when you wished for the Grim Reaper to take you away, he would never come? All I wanted was for it to all go away!

Frustrated and exhausted with grief, I opened my mouth in a silent scream...

Death, take me. Take me away from this hell. Even if there is only a dark nothingness waiting for me. How was I supposed to go on without her?

Don't ask me why I'm still alive. I feel like a husk, only going on my motor skills. The only thought that prevented me from totally going off the deep end was revenge. Whoever did this would pay. I'd make sure of it.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

_Author's Note: Aw, I'm sad now. :C_

_Obviously, the scene where he found her body isn't all that accurate at all, but fans should understand it anyway. Didn't have the manga right by me at the time but I remembered the important parts._

_Also! In your opinion, **who do you think killed Miiko and Utsuromiya**? I'm curious for your opinions!_

_Personally, I'm not all that sure if any of the known participants did it. The guy with the glasses is definitely mysterious and deserves to have some suspicion thrown his way, but that just seems too typical. The big, tough guy with the white hair is also highly suspect, but I'm just not getting that killer vibe from him just yet. Romero, of course, would be the first person I'd point to, but he's blind and helpless. We know Kukuri and Meguru couldn't have done it, since the story clearly showed them as innocent. The homeless guy is a possibility. I'm actually leaning more towards him, because he doesn't really strike me as being completely out of it. I think he understands a lot more than he leads on. And Akira, well, you know why I don't suspect him. But even if I didn't ship him with Miiko, I just don't see any reason for him to snap and kill the two of them. I have a feeling a new player is out there, judging from the art at the end of Chapter 10. High hopes for Chapter 11 being out soon!_


End file.
